Last bid for support before Thailand goes to vote
Electoral candidates take to the stage on Friday evening to woo voters for the last time before they cast their ballots on Sunday from 8am to 5pm. Sunday will see Thais electing 500 members of the House of Representatives and essentially deciding the country’s fate for the next four years.
After nearly a decade of a government that was led or backed by its royalist military, some 52 million eligible voters in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy will head to polling stations on Sunday when voters will choose whether to stay the course with military-linked conservatives or opt for change.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former army chief who ushered in years of military rule with a 2014 coup, is hoping to lead conservative forces to victory over an opposition led by the populist Pheu Thai party, backed by the billionaire Shinawatra family.
"I wish to make this land the land of peace, that it is safe and people live in harmony. We do not want change that will overturn the country. Can you accept that? Do you know what kind of damage it would do?" Prayuth spoke to the crowds on Friday evening. "We cannot suddenly change all at once because we don't know what lies on the side."
Prayuth supporters praised the work that he has done during the years that he was in power, where most do not want to see change.
Opinion polls show the Pheu Thai is likely to win most seats, continuing its string of strong performances in every vote since 2001, including twice in landslides. Its candidates for prime minister include Paethongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of family patriarch Thaksin Shinawatra, and real estate mogul Srettha Thavisin - both of whom have limited political experience.
"I think it's the confidence that I have in them. They truly are able to deliver their policies and promises. Thailand cannot wait any longer, it's been in a mess for a long time. We need someone who knows what they're doing," said 31-year-old Thai voter, Narutchai Rongkupatawanich, who attended the Pheu Thai's major rally in Bangkok.
Move Forward Party, another key opposition group, has seen a late-stage surge and is banking on young people - including 3.3 million eligible first-time voters aged 18 to 22. The party has promised big changes, ranging from tackling business monopolies and ending military conscription to amending a strict law on royal insults that critics say is used to stifle dissent.
"On May 14, walk to the polling stations and vote for Move Forward Party to change Thailand forever. Vote for the future, not the past. Vote because of hope, not because of fear," Pita Limjaroenrat, the PM candidate of the Move Forward Party told the cheering crowds.
But a big question hanging over the election is whether the military-dominated establishment will let the will of the people take its course with the formation of a new government.
